Brotherly Love
by Robin Lee
Summary: What would happen if one of the Marios suddenly turned against the other, against his will? Chapter 3 is a killer! Get out your tomatoes, not your guns! (..) You all will hate me for this one. Reviewers dont spoil it for the otthers!
1. 1

A/N: Here it is. The story you have all been waiting for. *drumroll* The story that you will all hate me for. The story that ...I can't think of a good title for!! Argh, how annoying. Anyway, read on, if you dare. Bwa ha ha....

Two faces peered out of the thick, thorny umbrage carefully. They scrutinized the dark, murky fortress before them and analyzed the situation.

"Okay," began Mario, his tone of voice slightly hinting impatience. "The Princess has been kidnapped again."

"No surprise there," Luigi added.

"…And we need to rescue her."

"No problem there! Oh…"

"So what are we waiting for?"

Luigi looked down, disappointed. "I forgot my hat."

"Forget it Weege. You don't need a hat to save Peach."

"Yeah I do," he argued fervently. "It's my lucky cap."

Mario waved the subject off. "It doesn't matter. Come on, you hatless freak, let's get a move on."

The two plumbers crept stealthily towards the castle gates, hoping their mission would go as smoothly as all the others.

***

"Let me go, you big, ugly brute!" Peach kicked and shouted as she was carried over Bower's shoulder.

"No use fighting Princess. You know you love me."

"Ugh, someone gag me, please."

Bowser stopped walking. "You mean it?"

Peach gawked in disgust. "Ewe! NO!"

The Koopa King shrugged and continued walking down the hall to the dungeon. "Just checking."

"Pervert…"

Depositing the Princess on the floor, he stepped back and grinned smugly.

"All you have to do is say the magic word Peach, and you can have your freedom."

"Tsk, yeah…freedom from these _ropes!_ Find some other broad to kidnap. There's no way I'm marrying _you._"

Bowser sneered at her and crossed to the exit. "Why don't you think about it?"

"In your dreams!" she shouted as the thick, wooden door to the prison slammed loudly. Sighing dejectedly, Peach shifted her weight to make herself more comfortable in the barely lit cellar. She jumped at the sound of immediate growling, snarling, maybe even barking. Swallowing, she wondered just what was in the dungeon with her when she was distracted by another noise; a nearby pipe's lid, which had been nailed shut, came crashing off, and out popped the plumbers. Peach, of course, was ecstatic.

"Oh, Mario! And…......who are you?"

Casting a confused glance around him, Luigi shrugged. "Luigi. Who else would I be?"

"…oh yeah! Didn't recognize you without the hat."

The young man frowned at his brother who had already started to loosen the ropes from Peach.

"I'm so glad you two are here!" she breathed. "I have a bad feeling that we're not alone."

At this point, the door slammed open again and Bowser stormed in.

"Well, not anymore at least," grumbled Mario.

Bowser roared. "What's this? Mario? He turned to the younger plumber with an odd look on his face. "Who the heck are you?!"

Exhaling heavily, Luigi threw his hands up in the air. "I'm Luigi! Geez…"

"Oh…right! By the way, you're missing your hat. Well, Marios, this is a nice surprise."

"No kidding. Considering we meet you about every other week…"

"That's beside my point. I'll let you have the Princess…"

"Really?" the duo exclaimed in unison.

"…if you can get past my latest form of defense."

"And that would be?" asked Mario, unfazed.

"You'll see." Nothing happened for a second or two, until they noticed the low growling. Cautiously, Mario crept closer to the sound which came from behind a steel barred gate.

"Well, I hear it," Luigi commented just before the thing coughed and a big pile of spit flew into his brother's face. 

"……I feel it," Mario grumbled, wiping it off with his sleeve disgustedly. Peach looked over his shoulder as two ugly yellow-orange eyes pierced the dark cage.

"Now I see it!" she cried out, gulping. 

"Stand back!" Mario shouted as the gate lifted. More angry yellow eyes joined the first pair, and the plumbers had a feeling these creatures didn't come in peace. A troop of Koopas emerged from the cage, but these were no ordinary overgrown reptiles. These turtles were ravenous, wild, and far more threatening. Mario, Luigi and Peach were quite anxious as they were surrounded in what was slowly becoming a ring of wild Koopas.

"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore," Mario mumbled.

"I don't think Bowser is sane anymore! What did you do to them?" cried Luigi, staring nervously at the angry, red-shelled animals. 

"That's none of your concern. Right now you should be running for your lives."

"Their like…rabid dogs," noticed Mario, swallowing hard.

Luigi looked at him from the corners of his eyes. "Well, this wasn't part of the plan. What now, genius?"

Mario just shrugged helplessly, backed against his brother, the two of them slowly turning, Peach helplessly wringing her hands next to them. The circle of maddened turtles sneered, baring their teeth at the plumbers. 

"Use your plungers!" Peach shouted at them, trying her best to stay out of reach. 

"Why is she always the smart one?" Luigi wondered aloud, unsheathing his long wooden weapon alongside Mario. With a unison shout, they attacked. Every Koopa in their reach was whacked away or whacked unconscious. Bowser groaned, instantly knowing he was losing the battle. 

Luigi almost laughed as he fought, swinging his plunger left and right. "One little, two little, three little Koopas…" SMACK, BAM. "Four little five little--" CRUNCH.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, tugging on his end of the plunger, the other end clenched between a Koopa's fearsome teeth. "Give it back!" They played tug of war until it snapped in half with a loud crack. Luigi stared at the broken end sadly.

"Don't tell me…" WHAM "…that was your lucky plunger, grunted Mario, still beating off the beasts. Luigi frowned angrily. 

"No, but it _was_ my favorite--_agh!_ Get off!" He tried to shake himself free from a Koopa that had latched onto his lower arm, it's sharp teeth biting down hard. "Owe! Mario!"

At the same time, Peach screamed as a Koopa charged her way. Leaping over two more of the monsters, Mario batted it away swiftly before it had a chance to get close. The Princess sighed, relieved.

"Whoa!" The Koopa tugged on Luigi's arm, dragging him down. He fell to the ground with a grunt, his eyes growing wide as the circle of what few monsters remained grew tighter around him. "Uh…Mario?

"Got ya!" His brother swatted the beasts away, and the hungry Koopa relented, releasing Luigi's arm and retreating. Mario took his hand, grabbing the Princess's as well, and they ran to their freedom. 

"Adios Bowserino!" called Luigi before he pushed Peach down the pipe and slid in himself.

"Ciao!" shouted Mario gleefully.

Bowser grumbled to himself. "I should never cut deals with plumbers."

***

"You should have been more careful," Mario admonished as the nurse cleaned and bandaged his brother.

"I'd like to see you try and fight off some crazy Koopas, _without_ your lucky hat and with only _half_ your favorite plunger. Owe!" he yelped. "That stings."

"Be a big boy, and you'll get a lolly," teased the nurse. Luigi leered at Mario. "Looks like I've got a mother to pamper me--yeowch!"

"Will you be all right Luigi?" asked Peach worriedly.

"Oh yeah," he boasted, flexing his bandaged arm. I'm as strong as an ox! Oooh…" He grunted painfully. 

"And twice as stupid," mumbled Mario.

"Hey! I resent that!"

"Well maybe it would teach you to be more careful!" Mario retorted before storming from the room. 

"Sheesh, what's eating him?" Luigi muttered under his breath, clearly hurt.

"He…he only cares for you, Luigi," Peach began gently.

"Yeah, well, he has a funny way of showing it." The younger plumber scowled at the back of the door sadly.

***

Silent, angry and hurtful stares were exchanged some nights later at supper. The plumbers ate their meals glumly, still apparently mad with each other, while Peach nearly went insane after trying for days to reconcile them. 

Finally, Mario cleared his throat. "Um, how is your arm doing?"

Luigi grew strangely defensive and nervous about this subject, and he drew in his arms, thankful for his long sleeved green shirt. "It's fine," he answered curtly.

"Come on, Weegy. I want to know."

"I said it's fine, isn't that good enough?"

"Mario opened his mouth to shoot some sharp reply, but shut it quickly and decided against it. He really didn't want to start a war, but Luigi was acting funny.

More moments of silence passed and the Princess broke it suddenly by slamming her spoon onto the table loudly.

"Would you two just _please_ kiss and make up?" she cried.

Luigi glanced at her, then back at his brother.

"Sure."

"Whatever."

"Oh yeah, _that's_ love," replied Peach sarcastically. "Of you two can't be civil, then--"

"Forget it, Princess. I'll save you the trouble." With those words, Luigi left the table just after giving his brother a cold stare.

"My, he's moody this week," stated Mario as if noticing polished floors. 

Peach threw up her hands in exasperation. "He's your brother, not mine. That makes him _your_ problem."

Mario watched his brother stalk up the stairs to his room, wishing he could get to the bottom of Luigi's troubles without starting a riot.

***

Luigi shut his door and locked it hurriedly, leaning his back against it. Closing his eyes, he wearily slid down along the massive plank of wood until he sat on the floor, knees drawn up to his chest. Sighing deeply, he opened his eyes, ridden with worry. In the safety of his own palace room, he slowly rolled up his sleeve. Carefully peeling back a corner of the white bandage, his face went pale.

The skin under the white cotton pad was scaly, the lightest shade of green imaginable. His face marred with a frown, he closed his eyes and pulled his sleeve back down, letting his head bang back against the door.

**You hate him, don't you?** Luigi more deeply at the strange voice.

_No! I don't hate Mario! He's….just…_

**Sometimes you just want to kill him.**

_No! Never!_

**Come on, don't tell me you never think that way. Remember when he threw you in the pool to try and "teach" you swimming when you were a kid?**

_Yeah, I do. But that's no reason to kill him!_

**…And when he put peanuts in your trail mix? You were allergic to peanuts.**

_It…it was an honest mistake._

**No it wasn't. He was trying to kill you.**

_…No._

**No what? Don't you sometimes wish he were dead?**

_No!_

**Yes you do. You're thinking it right now.**

_I'm not--_

**It would be so easy Luigi. To kill Mario. KILL MARIO.**

Luigi opened his eyes and put his hands over his ears, trying to shut out the voice.

**KILL MARIO...**

Luigi shut his eyes again, tightly this time. Soon, thought, he felt a strange exhaustion overtake him, his body relaxing slowly. When he opened his eyes again, they were glazed over, and he stared straight ahead, slowly losing control. **KILL MARIO.**

"Kill Mario," he whispered, blinking lethargically.


	2. 2

A/N: *sighs* Okay...this chapter is up alot faster than I would have liked, but since Koji's lost her mind and wants to kill me (she can find out where I live!! Koji knows all..... O_o' ) and since Jes is foaming at the mouth to see what happens next, and since....well yeah I don't have alot of readers yet, do I? Ah well, your loss! All these factors add up to: Robin Lee wants to keep her life and live in harmony with her fellow authors, and if posting her new story's new chapter so soon is what it takes...then by golly, she'll keep her life!

It gets more exciting here. You thought it all started like a crazy SMB episode, didn't you? You all didn't expect this sudden turn of events to get all....strange, did you? DID YOU?!?! Yeah, you all will hate me for this. Now get on with the story.   
  
He changed into his nightclothes. He pulled back the sheets. He snapped off the light and--

Creak. What was that? Under the crack below his door he saw twin shadows blocking the light from the hall. Mario snapped the dim light back on and opened his door. Luigi stood outside, staring at him blankly.

"Oh," began Mario, mustering up his apology. "Hey I uh, wanna say I'm sorry, for--"

"Kill Mario," Luigi interrupted, muttering incoherently.

"What?" sighed Mario impatiently, not liking to be interrupted.

"Kill Mario," his brother whispered, his unseeing eyes gazing at Mario eerily. The elder frowned a little, hearing the words but not yet understanding. 

"What did you say?" he asked softly, disbelieving. Luigi's eyes dropped to the floor for a moment or two. When he looked up, they were a reptilian yellow, his pupils reduced to vertical slits.

"Kill Mario," he sneered, voice growing louder and more intense as he stepped nearer. "Kill Mario, kill Mario…"

"W-weegy!" begged Mario as he backed up quickly. "Stop it, you're creeping me out!"

"Kill Mario." One step forward.

"Luigi!" Two steps backwards.

"Kill Mario." Two steps.

"Stop it!" One step. Mario was cornered, and his brother took the chance to lash out with his hand, his fingers bent into claws, trying to swipe his brother's face. Mario dodged the attack, grabbing Luigi's arm firmly in an iron grip and demanding him. "Stop!"

His younger brother's face was curled into a sneer, which slowly melted with the command of "Look at me!" Luigi kept staring, then blinked once or twice, rubbing an eye with his free hand. He glanced around the room, confused.

"What am I doing here?" he asked, breathless.

Mario was befuddled, to say the least. Luigi turning evil and wanting to kill him, then suddenly forgetting anything had ever happened. It was as if he had no control over his mind, his thoughts…

"You don't remember anything?" snapped Mario hurriedly. 

"No. Don't be so short with me."

Mario was struck with an idea. (Ouch! That must hurt.) "Give me your arm."

"No," countered Luigi defensively.

"Weegy…"

"I said no!" The young Mario turned on his heel to leave the room, but he stopped himself just on the threshold, a sweaty palm grasping the doorway. Tense silence subdued the room.

"What are you hiding?" his brother pleaded gently. Without further prodding, Luigi slowly and shamefully turned around and approached Mario. With a trembling hand, he rolled up his sleeve. 

"This," he answered hoarsely, pulling back the bandage. Mario gasped in surprise. Around the diminishing teeth marks on Luigi's arm, his skin was pale green, scaly, and so…

Koopa-like. 

"This can't be real," Mario breathed, holding his brothers arm and lightly running his fingers along his skin. 

"It is." A long pause. "You still didn't say what happened."

"What happened when?"

"Just now."

Mario held his breath. "You were….trying to kill me."

"What?!"

"Yeah. You just kept saying that over and over: kill Mario."

"No, no, no." Luigi shook his head, incredulous. "No way I would do that."

"You did."

Silence again. Luigi swallowed hard. "I did hear something like a voice…it said that a lot."

Mario didn't respond. He was thinking. If Luigi got a bite from a wild Koopa, it must be almost like…turning him into a Koopa. Turning him against his brother, the Princess and the Mushroom Kingdom. 

"We've got to stop this," said Mario determinedly. "Before it happens again."

"It won't," Luigi quickly reassured. "It won't happen again. I promise."

"But--"

"I won't listen to that voice anymore. I'll plug my ears or something. I swear." Eyes searching eyes, finding the trust that each other wanted. Mario finally nodded, only half convinced. 

"All right."

"Maybe it will wear off on its own."

"…Maybe." Luigi sounded so confident, so sure that everything would be fine; Mario hated to be the voice of doom. The truth was, Luigi wasn't so sure himself. He hoped his voice didn't crack when he told his brother, "Let's just get some sleep."

***

Same as the night after. He changed into his nightclothes. He pulled back the sheets--

**Kill Mario.**

_…What?_

**Kill Mario.**

_No, no, no…_

**Kill M--**

"Stop it," Luihi hissed, looking around his room as if the voice was coming from somewhere nearby. To his surprise, it did. Grinning victoriously out of one side of his mouth, he shut off the light and climbed into bed. 

**……Kill Peach.**

_What?!_

**Kill Peach.**

"No, no. I won't listen." Luigi sat up in bed and covered his ears, holding his breath.

**Kill Peach.**

"Stop," he whispered, pleading. "Stop it." He closed his eyes and squeezed them shut as if to keep whatever was talking to him from prying them open again.

**Kill Peach. Kill Peach.** The voice echoed in his mind, unrelenting, unmerciful. Luigi finally exhaled, slowly and tiredly as his head drooped low. His hands dropped to his sides. His eyes snapped open, and they held that same monstrous desire for evil, that same devilish yellow hue. 

***

Peach herself was already asleep until her door creaked open. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and looked around. 

"Hum…Mario?" she muttered before falling back down on the pillow. Yet now she heard something like a voice. 

"Wha--?" She sat straight up, looking around the room. She could have sworn her saw the figure of a man leaning against a wall. She shook her head; he disappeared. Or maybe he just slunk into the shadows…

She lay back down, and for a moment heard nothing. Then a voice, so horrible and frightening it chilled her blood.

"Kill Peach," it whispered into the darkness. The Princess was convinced she was hearing thing, but her body froze just the same. She looked around with her eyes, not daring to move. "Kill Peach." The voice was closer now, hanging right in her ear. It sounded terribly familiar……She rolled over, whirling around, and faced Luigi squarely, his impassive face close to hers, but his yellow eyes filled with murder.

Peach started a piercing, high pitched scream, and the plumber cut her off, covering her nose and mouth with one hand. She twisted and writhed, unable to breath, but he was much more powerful that she remembered. She tried to pull his hand off, but it was clamped down too hard. She stared at Luigi with terrified eyes, begging him to stop. He returned her gaze blankly. 

"Shhhh…." he whispered slowly, softly, holding a finger up to his lips. Peach couldn't last much longer, her lungs began to burn. She eventually stopped moving, stopped struggling. She blinked sleepily, her eyes starting to roll.

"Luigi!" Mario shouted from the bedroom door. "Stop!"

The blank response made him shiver. "Kill Peach…"

Mario charged his own brother, made a mighty leap over Peach and her bed and tackled Luigi on the floor. Rolling on top of him, he tried to talk to his brother who pushed against him, thrashing as if he were possessed.

"Weege…Luigi, look at me!" With more strength than the lean plumber ever possessed, he easily threw Mario off of him, standing up and growling like an animal. 

Mario held his head in his hand after it struck the hard marble floor. He was relieved to hear Peach gasping for air, then panicked when Luigi pounced on top of him, pinning him down. 

"Kill Mario," he sneered, baring his teeth which had strangely changed shape. To Mario's chagrin, they were sharp, pointy….ready to bite anything that got in their way. He tried sitting up but his efforts were in vain. His brother's frigid scaly fingers dug into his upper arms, forcing him into the cold white marble. 

"L-Luigi! Look at me! Remember me?"

Luigi growled deep in this throat unnaturally, not responding. 

"Remember, uh…remember when we lived in New York? Huh? All those good times we had?" Mario struggled for words. "Um…remember the time I took you fishing?....*To the pet shop?" 

Luigi showed no sign of recognition. Instead he hissed at his brother, a nasty, snake-like tongue flipping out of his mouth. 

Mario would have screamed if Peach hadn't smacked Luigi unconscious, swinging her scepter like a baseball bat. He fell to the floor, not moving, and the Princess gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. Her repentant, confused eyes met Mario's.

"I'm…I'm sorry," she whispered lamely, saline gathering in her eyes. He stood up, holding her arms gently.

"It's all right, Princess. Shh…"

"I didn't know what to do…I'm sorry."

"Peach, it's all right."

She drew a trembling breath. "What happened to him?"

Mario did not know where to begin. Yet the story was told, and Peach's face blanched. "Oh Mario. I'm so sorry." All the plumber could do was hold her.

***

Mario watched and waited by his brother's bed, waited until his eyelids fluttered open. Luigi groaned and tried rubbing his face, but his hands wouldn't move. On further investigation, he found his arms tied above his head with rope. Deflating, he cursed under his breath, and noticed Mario. He turned his head away, feeling the color rise to his face. 

"Happened again, didn't it?"

Mario nodded, then cleared his throat after remembering his brother could not see him. "Yeah."

"Peach knows?"

"I uh, think she got the hint."

Luigi's head snapped towards his brother. "I didn't hurt her did I?"

Mario shook his head briskly. "No, no. She's okay. I told her everything."

The conversation was slow and delayed. "What's with the ropes?"

"You were…out of control."

Luigi pursed his lips grimy. "Times like these I wish I knew the words to 'Oops, I did it again'."

"That's not funny," Mario snapped.

"You're right! It's not!" Luigi retorted loudly. He glared at his brother for a moment or two, then shut his eyes, looking away.

"What are we going to do?"

A frightening pause. "I'm not sure. The doctors….they don't know what to think."

"Screw the doctors," Luigi whispered, blinking back tears. "I'm…I'm just kind of scared, you know?"

Mario gently placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Yeah, I know." Luigi tilted his head so that his cheek rested on the hand. More silence. Luigi was thinking.

"What's going to happen to me, Mario?"

Mario could only wish he had the answer. All he could come up with was "I don't know" and a shrug. He held his tongue, however, staying silent. He let his brother rest upon his hand, and he drifted off to sleep beside him.

***

It was still dark when Mario awoke later that night, hardly knowing he had fallen asleep. He wanted to rest longer, but his position for the chair was hardly comfortable. He rubbed his eyes, yawning. 

"Hey, Weege," he croaked, not fully alert yet. "How ya doing?" No answer. Mario looked at the bed, then jumped out of his chair, heart beating fast. The bed was empty; the scrap of rope was chewed through, and the imprint of his brother on the sheets was all that remained. 

"Luigi?" Mario searched the room high and low, the lamps brightening every corner. His brother was no where to be found. With a sickening realization, he leapt from the room and slid into the hall. "Oh, please, no."

Peach's bedroom. He snapped on the night, running to the bundle of covers that clumped on the bed. "Peach?" He threw back the sheets…

The Princess was gone. 

A light breeze distracted Mario before he could think. He ran to the open window, slapping the wispy white curtains out of his face. His sweaty hands gripped the window sill as he peered into the shadows of the night. He looked down…and saw only bushes and grass. 

"Luigi!" he shouted, his lone voice echoing through-out the dark hills. No answer. No stirring. Nothing.

Hopelessly gazing upward, the stars watched him, some twinkling from their celestial perch as if laughing at him, taunting "Mario's lost his brother! Mario's lost his brother…"

Pushing himself off the window Mario raced back to his room, snatching up something green and going to the one place he thought Luigi could be…

Bowser's Keep. 

  
  
  
  
*Yeah, that whole pet shop thing is not my gig...I got it from John Leguizamo's stand up routine, and I find it hilariuos. So he owns that. Yeah.


	3. 3

A/N: *gulp* Well, here it is people. The moment you've all been waiting for. The moment where I will lose so many ff.net friends (namely koji). I garuntee you'll hate it. Hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate--crash! (Would someone PLEASE fix that broken record?? Geez, for the love of Ben Bratt....) 

By the way, when you review...take care not to spoil anything for other readers!! Or I will personally shoot you. Well, maybe not. ^_^ On with the story. 

  
  
  
Peach trembled in her chains, sitting on the floor of Koopa's throne room. She didn't like the new Luigi, who loomed over her like an animal, waiting for her to move. The new Luigi was evil, the old one was good. This one eyed her like his prey. She looked away when Bowser's shadow fell over her slight form.

"Comfortable, Peach?"

"No," she retorted firmly through clenched teeth. She whispered tearfully. "How could you do this to him?"

Bowser shrugged carelessly. "I never even planned on it to happen. But since it has, I'm ecstatic. Why, I might as well infect you and Mario while I'm at it." Peach's blood froze.

"You wouldn't," she breathed, disbelieving eyes locked on Bowser's. 

"Imagine! Taking over the Mushroom Kingdom by making them _just like me_…" Bowser grinned at the thought. "No sense in wasting time my dear. It's time for you to become one of _us_…" 

No," Peach cried softly, unable to tear her eyes away from the once-plumber that stalked nearer, baring his gruesome teeth. "No, Luigi!" He grabbed her wrists forcefully, ignoring her pleas and drawing his mouth closer to her neck. 

"Luigi! Stop!"

He turned his head at the voice, growling deep in his throat. He stood up slowly, turning around, and Mario gasped at his brother's appearance. Almost all of his visible skin was that sick, light color green, his eyes were still bright yellow…but now two nasty fangs jutted from his mouth, and his fingernails were long and sharp.

"I know no Luigi," he rumbled, his voice frighteningly deep, like that of a demon. Mario was tempted to think he was not looking at his brother…but a monster. 

"Y-yeah," he stuttered. "Yeah, sure you do. Don't be stupid. _You're_ Luigi!"

"You try my patience, _human._" Luigi stood up, lowering his head but focusing his eyes on his brother. 

Mario began to back away until he remembered something. He dug around his pocket, pulling out Luigi's hat. "See? Remember this? You're lucky hat?" Still the demon-Luigi advanced, unheeding his brother's pleas. Mario took two more steps backwards. 

"Luigi! You can't forget your hat! Try to remember!" he cried. 

"Of course he can, he's forgotten everything," interjected Bowser with malicious glee. Mario shot him a nasty glare out of the corner of his eye.

"Who asked you?" Mario's eyes grew wide in panic--no, terror, when his brother revealed a twisted knife. He backed away more quickly, careful not to walk into any walls. "Whoa, Weegy listen. Listen to me!"

"Why should I listen to you?" Luigi growled, his deep voice running chills up Mario's spine. The latter floundered for words.

"Because....because I'm, I'm your brother!"

Luigi stopped in his tracks for only a second, closing his eyes. Then she shook his head, still advancing with the same fury and murder. 

"Kill Mario."

"No, no Luigi, let's talk about this!"

"Kill Mario."

"Weege! Listen to what you're saying!"

"Kill Mario."

Finally he had enough. Waiting for Luigi to come close enough, Mario dodged every swing he took with the knife. "Luigi!" Duck. "Just…!" Shy away. "…cool it!" Another swing, and Mario raised his leg, kicking the knife out of Luigi's hands. The literally green plumber glared at him, advancing still. He needed to knife to infect his brother.

Out of ideas, Mario was cornered, literally. Luigi's face came close to his own, and he caught a glimpse of ugly yellow teeth.

"Weegy, no!" Mario grabbed his brother's face in his hands, trying to stop its course towards his own. He strained with the effort and fear, surprised at his brother's strength. He felt hot breath on his neck, whispering, "Join us."

Mario squeezed his eyes shut and pushed with all his might.

"No!" Peach shouted from across the room trying to break free from her bonds. "Luigi, stop it!"

The distraction was enough. Mario kneed his brother in the stomach and slid towards the knife, picking it up in one smooth motion. Not believing he was doing so, he aimed it in the monster Luigi's direction who still stalked closer, unafraid.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Weege…Luigi, Luigi listen to me!"

No answer. Just ominous dark footsteps. 

"Luigi, you can't forget you're brother Mario! You can't!" He found himself uselessly backed into a wall again, not even realizing he had been moving. "You can't join the Koopas, they're evil!"

"And who will stop me?" Luigi growled in his thunderous voice, drawing nearer. "You?" Mario still grasped the knife in two hands, but as he grew more intimidated he slowly lowered it to his waist, the butt of the handle pressing into his stomach, the sharp point facing outward. He swallowed, throat suddenly very dry. The monster threw himself against the wall facing Mario, his hands slapping against cold stone to stop his momentum. The plumber cringed.

"You think you will stop me? Our race is undefeatable." Mario shook his head, not wanting to believe what he was hearing. Not wanting to believe that the unearthly voice was coming from his brother. Not wanting to believe this beast before him, the beast that wanted to kill him, was once his brother. 

The monster's face drew dangerously close to Mario's. "What are you going to do?" he challenged intensely. "Huh? What?" The monster stepped even closer, and the blade of the knife sank into his midsection. Grunting softly, he lowered his head, looking at the hands that grasped the handle of the blade. Everything seemed so slow…

Mario's eyes grew wide, his mouth flew open, and he too glanced downward. His fists, slowly being covered in blood, were pressed up against his waist; the knife kept as far away as it could have been. He and the monster's overalls were staining dark red.

"No!" Peach screamed, her eyes never leaving the scene before her. Mario's did however, and he gazed, stricken, into his brother's dark mass of hair. 

He watched as Luigi weakly lifted his head only enough to meet eyes; to his horror, rather than relief, the green tint had left his face, and the yellow had left his eyes. Luigi stared at Mario, his boyish features restored, his expression curious, his brown eyes anguished. He tried to form his brother's name on his lips, but it seemed to take all eternity.

"Mm….Mario?" His frail, trembling voice cracked, and his knees gave out beneath him. 

Eyes still wide, Mario caught his brother under his arms, lowering him slowly to the tiled marble floor. Mario sank down with him, carefully twisting his brother so he lay on his back, his head resting in his lap, Mario's legs straddling his body. 

"...Mario…"

"No no, shh, don't talk," Mario whispered hurriedly, holding a finger to his brother's lips. Luigi's every breath was a fight, his eyes were locked on some far away object in a corner where the ceiling met the wall. 

"I'm…I'm s'rry…"

"Shh."

"S'rry fer…hurtin' Peach."

"No, she's okay, she's fine."

Peach watched with a horrified stare, blinking back tears.

"Sorry for…not being careful…"

"No no, don't worry about that." Mario snatched his brother's right hand and grasped it tightly. 

"M' sorry…" Luigi breathed. Mario cursed softly and wiped away his tears with his knuckles clumsily.

"No, Luigi. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for…for not letting you go back and get your lucky hat."

Luigi smiled faintly at the joke, then gasped, mouth opening wider, needing the air that wouldn't come. Mario held his face in his hands, as if trying to help him achieve his impossible goal.

"Maybe then…none of this would have happened," Mario mumbled. "I'm sorry I let you down. I'm…sorry I--"

"N't your fault…" the younger plumber sighed, staring at that distant spot near the ceiling. "…Mario."

Chin trembling, Mario glanced away. "Yeah. Yeah it is." Looking back down at his brother, he wiped away his tears so could better see. Luigi wasn't moving. His eyes frozen, his mouth parted slightly--not moving.

"No. No Luigi! Wake up!" His brother never answered, never moved…never breathed. 

"Luigi I'm sorry!" Mario sobbed, losing control. He cradled his brother's face, stiff in death. "I'm so sorry…" Peach felt herself go limp in shock, and would have collapsed had a sudden strength and anger not coursed through her viens. She shouted at Bowser, unvisible through her tears. "You did this to him! You _murderer!_" She sobbed uncontrollably. "You murderer!!"

Mario stared again at his dead brother, growing silent. _This isn't happening_, he thought. _He's not dead...this isn't happening...he's not dead...._ He closed his eyes in despair and defeat, the hands that cradled his brother's face beginning to tremble as Bowser's maniacle laugh grew louder and more mocking. Disturbing the anguished moment, Luigi blinked hard, squinting. "Ow…"

"Luigi!" 

"No!" someone shouted close by. A girl stormed towards the unhappy scene, throwing a clipboard down on the ground. "Dang it, Luigi, can't we do this right for just once?" She looked over her shoulder, more than aggravated. "Cut!"

"What?" Luigi asked innocently, rubbing his eyes and sitting up. Mario shook his head and sighed. From afar, Peach threw up her hands in exasperation, the plastic chains on her wrists making odd clacking sounds.

"You blinked!" the director retorted. 

"So?"

"You're not supposed to blink, moron! This is supposed to be a heart wrenching moment! We can't have one if the dead guy comes back to life! Make-up!"

"But my eyes were dry and stinging!"

"Suck it up, Weege."

Luigi cast a "shut-up-or-die" look at Mario while listening to his director's harangue. 

"First you sneeze, then you fart, and then you can't stop blinking? This is taking forever! You can't stop blinking for just ONE minute?" Two people rushed to the scene, one cleaning Mario's red hands, and one trying to help Luigi, who kept brushing her off. 

"Maybe if Tubby back here would…shut my eyes or something. They do that in movies, ya know!"

"No, Tubby is not going to shut your eyes…"

"Hey!" Mario protested.

"Look, Haley Joel Osment did it in A.I., so I am likely to believe that a grown man can do it too."

"Ah, Haley Joel Osment's a brat!" Luigi waved his director off, tearing away his Velcro shirt, the bloody stains and fake knife handle going with it. He dropped it on the floor and waltzed away, hands in his pockets, trying not to care.

"_Don't you walk out on me, Luigi Mario!!_" she screeched.

"Why not? I can find better work in some other town, maybe on 'The Sopranos'!"

"Weegy," His brother ran to catch up with him. "Luigi, come on…"

"No. I've had it with her and her stupid "eye-openers"......literally."

"Come on, I know you can do this." He put a hand on his brother's arm.

"She doesn't think so," he muttered, tilting his head towards the director. 

Peach looked at her watch while a woman powdered her face, growing angry. She tapped her heels on the floor impatiently, gesturing wildly with her hands. "Hey, is this going to take all day? I have to meet my agent about the Seven-Up commercial!"

"Come on, let's do it for Peach," urged Mario.

"No."

"Weegy…"

"_What?_"

"......I'll ask her if she'll let me close your eyes. How's that sound?"

Grumbling and mumbling a lot, Luigi finally nodded. "Fine. But I'm not doing this for _her_!" she said loudly in the direction of the director.

"Whatever, guy. _Make-up! Get back here and make this guy green!!_" the director screamed. They hurried to fulfill her commands as Bowser crossed to her in two big steps, leering.

"That twerp doesn't have a chance…"

"Shut up, or I'll fire you too," replied the director calmly, glancing over pages in her clipboard.

Bowser went red in the face with anger, then lowered his head sadly and walked back to his spot by the throne, forgotten by the camera. "Yes, ma'am."

"Okay, people. One…more…time!"

The End (Sad, but true.)

  
  
  
  
  
Okay, regardless to what some of you may think, I did NOT get this idea from Jes's april fools joke. THIS idea came out of my own little sick, demented mind...bwa ha ha! Flames are more than welcome...I might give you one of Jes's cookies. Not to say they weren't yummy! *sweatdrop* Can you guess who the "director" is? ^^ 


End file.
